Stretchers are typically used for medical evacuation of injured persons from the site of injury to a medical vehicle such as an ambulance or helicopter. Some stretchers are intended to be highly portable, to be carried long distances by military or emergency personnel into regions inaccessible by vehicular transport; others are intended to be used in environments that are easily accessible by vehicle, and are correspondingly heavier; others, such as wheeled hospital gurneys, are designed with wheels and stands that can be used on level surfaces.
Often, injured persons are subject to jostling and rocking during transport on a standard stretcher. Lateral rotation is generated any time the persons transporting the stretcher are traveling on uneven terrain or are climbing up or down a grade. Even when the person on the stretcher is firmly strapped to the backboard, any rocking motion on the part of the persons holding the stretcher on either side is transmitted to the backboard. This is particularly problematic for back and spine injuries, but can be a problem for persons with all types of injuries.
Indeed, the reduction of unnecessary back and spinal motion is a standard part of modern emergency medical procedure. A common device used for this purpose is a long spine board, also called a backboard and made of plastic or other X-ray translucent materials, on which the injured person is placed. Other devices such as a cervical collar, side head supports or blocks, and straps are used in conjunction to immobilize the patient. In cases where rapid vehicle extraction is desired, often devices are used such as the Kendrick Extrication Device, which is a padded device with built-in straps designed to immobilize a person in an anatomically neutral position.
However, such immobilizing devices are not useful in reducing back and spinal motion due to motion of the stretcher, as the immobilizing devices themselves are only secured to the stretcher. What is needed is a mechanism for separating the rocking motion of the persons carrying the stretcher from the actual stretcher itself.